


The First Second of E-Toon-ity

by colley



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cockapoo, Dogs, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original work - Freeform, Saluki, Slice of Life, cartoon, imp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 11:26:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16639085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/colley/pseuds/colley
Summary: Join us as we take a look at the day to day lives of River and Jacky, two cartoon dogs living in an animated world. River and Jacky don't see the world like everyone else does. They can see the animation errors, hear the soundtrack, they are aware that there is more to their world than many will ever realize. How do they cope? How do they handle the scripted stories they get pushed into?Lets find out, shall we?Thank you to Rhodes for the use of River, Charm, and helping me with the core concepts of creating this piece.





	The First Second of E-Toon-ity

**Author's Note:**

> This initially started off as writing some random scenes for characters a friend and I created, and it kept ballooning larger and larger. Kind of just... ends, but currently working on a follow-up story.

Tick.

Time is relative when you live in a cartoon. A day can seem twice that long, or maybe half, and they can often blur together. Seasons pass, holidays come and go, but everything was always just 'last week/month/year' regardless of when it happened. Everything is ageless, yet time still moves forward in its own way.

How long had it been since River and Jacky 'woke up' in this cartoon world, and learned its ins and outs? When did they find themselves in this cartoon landscape? Their awakening, the discovery that they seemed to be the only ones who knew this town, this world, heck the entire universe, was a cartoon?

It was like if Toontown was a real thing, but no one there was an actor, this was actually their lives. Everything around them was just part of their normal, extremely colorful, lives. But no one else seemed to be able to see things like River or Jacky could. If they tried to tell the others, well, it'd be like telling a hobbit they're just a character in a book. They would think you mad. How long had it been? They'd taken time to study the city, figure out what was what, piecing together that while everyone had their lives, the most prominent events seemed to focus on a german shepherd by the name of Barker, his American bulldog best friend Spike, and his doberman girlfriend Molly. If there was excitement going down in the city, those 3 were usually involved. Wacky capers, suburban hijinx, that one weird incident with the escaped kangaroo, somehow Barker would always be involved.

The humans didn't notice, of course. Dogs were just 4-legged animals to them. Pets, companions, but never leads in their own stories. They remained blissfully unaware of just how much the animals of this city were actually involved in things, and that seemed to be the status quo.

How long had it been since River and Jacky figured out they were playing the roles of secondary cast to Barker and company? Was it the 5th or 6th time in one week Barker had freed them and a few others from the back of the dog catcher's van, and everyone bailed out in the exact same order, in time with the music that only they seemed to hear? Like it was part of an intro sequence? How long ago was that? 

They were strays, yes, living in a dilapidated, rusted out, hippy van sitting on a hill by the river running just on the outskirts of town. Just them, their nicely furnished interior, and a thankfully working TV. River and Jacky didn't mind being strays, and they sure didn't mind not being the leads in this city's stories. As secondary cast it meant they got to sit back, watch 75% of the chaos from a safe distance, and do more of what they wanted to.

Sure, there were times they got roped into the madness, and on more than one occasion felt themselves getting railroaded into a storyline they knew they should avoid. They weren't immune to the tropes of storytelling in this world, even if they were aware of them. Still, it was a fair exchange for the freedom they had the rest of the time. In the end, they were always back to where they started, safe at home, the status quo resuming in a day or two afterwards. It was nice knowing that they had a sort of safety net. Some might find it all maddening, but for River and Jacky, this was as close to paradise as they could ever imagine finding.

Time moved forward, how long had it been? The days blurred together into weeks, months, had it been months since they figured it all out? Maybe a year? And in the long run, did it really matter? They were happy, they were content, they were-

Knock-knock-knock

-having their thoughts interrupted by someone knocking on the van door.

Jacky stretched as she got off her floor pillow, letting out a toothy yawn. The honey-furred cockapoo rubbed at her muzzle before walking over to the door and, with some effort giving her small frame, slid the door open enough to look outside. "Yeah, mate, what is it?"

"'Eeeey, Jacky!" Came the friendly voice of Spike. He sat outside the van door, tail lightly wagging behind him. "Just heard that the pastry shop was rotating its stock today, and thought maybe you two lovely ladies might wanna tag along with us to check it out?"

Rotating stock, Jacky had learned, was a rather nice way of saying they were throwing out the stuff that had been there too long. Not that you could tell when you saw it. Most things thrown out looked almost as pristine as the new stuff that replaced it. Maybe some slight imperfections, but nothing that couldn't be easily ignored.

What did she have going on today? Anything that this would interfere with? She shrugged, "I think I could nosh, sure." 

Jacky wasn't that hungry, she never technically got hungry. Stomachs occasionally rumbled, but there was never any hunger behind it. Eating for her and River was more a craving for flavor than sustenance. On a whim, she went a week without eating, and not once was there a true pang of hunger. How long ago did she test that?

"Just me though, sorry. River's stepped out, wanted to work on 'er writin'," she told Spike. There was a slight droop of his tail and ears after she said that. Disappointment? Hmm, alterior motive for the invite maybe? "Buuut we could grab somethin' nice to bring back for 'er? She'd be chuffed for sure."

Spike's tail began wagging again, "That's a great idea!"

Aha, Jacky thought to herself. She stepped toward the van's glovebox. "Just let me make me self presentable, right?" 

She popped open the glovebox and pulled two long ribbons out. Not even thinking twice about how hand-like her forepaws worked, she tied them into bows at the base of her ears. Every character had a distinguishable accessory of some sort. She had her bows, River had her scarf-neckwrap-thing, even Spike had little metal studs running along his red collar, the only dog with a collar like that in town.

Jacky hopped down from the van, and pushed the door close behind her. It was a nice day, the sun was out, there was just enough clouds to make the sky look good. Softly in the distance she could hear the background music of the world playing a gentle mid-day melody. Off to the side she could see another local, Frederick Sparrow, sharpening his beak against a large rock. He came by every so often to talk about his travels with the girls, and his stories often pushed the edge of what could be considered TV-Y7. "Mornin', Fred!"

"Morning, lass!" Frederick replied, before starting to preen himself. "You two mind bringing me back a bearclaw if they got any? Love those things."

Spike laughed and nodded to the bird, "You got it, buddy!"

 

"This seems like the worst idea you've had," River said, rubbing her face with her forepaws. The black and white furred saluki wasn't sure how she got talked into this, but here she was, at the top of the biggest hill in the town's park, sitting next to a metal shopping cart.

Jacky happened to be sitting in said shopping cart, trying to thread her ears through the holes of a child's bike helmet. "Oh stop it, I've 'ad far worse and you know it." She looked out at her roommate through the cart's grids. "This isn't any worse than the zoo incident."

River shuddered at the memory, "I had cotton candy in places I didn't know cotton candy could get..."

"There, see? Not as bad as that!" Jacky said with a laugh, making final adjustments to the helmet. "I say this well aware of what could 'appen if I do; what's the worst that could 'appen?"

"Broken bones, drowning, getting eaten by a yeti as you dodge around a tree?" River replied sarcastically. She picked up the helmet Jacky had gotten her, and looked it over. Despite it being made for a human, she knew it'd fit on her head perfectly. That's just how it worked.

"A week's inconvenience tops, I doubt we'll reach the pond, and that'd only 'appen durin' winter," Jacky countered. She gave her best puppy dog pouty face as she looked at River, making sure to add a little bit extra lip wibble.

River just narrowed her eyes, "That only works on humans, Jacky. But... fine, let's wreck this cart."

Jacky fistpumped as River began to put on her helmet, "YES!" She got herself situated, forepaws on the edge of the cart's front, tail wagging behind her. "Right, pilot to co-pilot, we're ready for take-off!"

Taking one last look at the hill, the long, long way down, River finished fastening her helmet. She stepped a good distance back, and with a running start, leaped up onto the back of the cart. The shopping cart inched forward as she scrambled into the basket, just in time for it to start rolling down the hill.

"AND WE'RE OFF!" Jacky exclaimed as the cart began to pick up speed. The basket was wobbly, shaking as it rolled across the rough grass, the wind picking up and blowing the girls' ears behind them. 

River looked ahead and frowned. Midway down the hill, a pair of ladies had set up a picnic blanket, and were settling down for a bite to eat. "Try to steer us away from the picnickers!"

"Do what?" Jacky shouted back. "Oh! Steerin'! Yeah, that'd been somethin' to consider, wouldn't it?" She looked around the cart and then said, "Maybe if we shift our weight?"

The two dogs tried to move to the opposite side of the cart. Slowly, its trajectory began to change, and they zipped by a safe distance from the oblivious picnic goers. Jacky looked back at them, and then grinned at River.

"See? I know what I'm do-GYACK!" She was cut off as one of the cart's wheels hit a hole, and the cart veered sharply to the left, throwing both dogs against the side of the basket. Then the cart hit another hole, throwing them to the opposite side, and another hole, and another. The two bounced off the sides of the shopping cart as it raced to the bottom of the hill, finally jumping the curb of the sidewalk, pivoting on two wheels, and shooting off across the lane.

Shaking off her disorientation, River managed to sit back up and take stock of their situation. The cart was racing along a good speed, fast enough that she could tell a few of the tree patterns seemed to be repeating as they went past. People jumped out of the way, some shouting angrily, but no one was making any attempt to stop the cart.

In the distance she could see a couple familiar faces, Barker and Molly were out for a walk sans their owners. Barker was sporting a new flat cap, ear holes cut out by hand from the look of things. Was he singing to her? Were they about to roll right through a musical number? "Jacky, heads up!"

"Is 'ee singin' to 'er?" Jacky said with a laugh. "Watch this, I'm gonna snag that 'at!" She got herself in position, butt wriggling in anticipation as they got closer and closer.

Barker never saw it coming. Mid-chorus of his musical number about his love for Molly, the shopping cart went by in a blur, Jacky grabbing his hat and yanking it off with a shouted, "YOINK!"

The two girls looked back at the stunned, and now silent Barker, Molly laughing and waving to them as they continued racing down the sidewalk. Jacky and River looked at the hat, then each other, and began laughing themselves.

"Oh, that was BRILL!" Jacky exclaimed. "Did you see 'is face?" She turned to look ahead of them and the color drained from her own face. "Aw, figs."

River turned to see what she was looking at, and felt her ears and tail droop. "Oh, figs."

The cart slammed into a wooden bench, and launched the saluki and cockapoo into the air. They sailed over the bench, bushes, and grass, their flight path taking them right into the park's pond with a large splash.

The girls came up sputtering, and started swimming back to shore. They shook themselves off and flopped on the grass, before they both started laughing. 

"That. Was. SO. DUMB!" River said through her giggle-snorts. "We could have been seriously hurt!"

Jacky laughed, letting Barker's water logged hat flop on the grass next to her. "It was! Oh, blimey that was dumb!" She took a moment to regain her composure and looked over at River. "Proper breaks next time?"

River looked up to see Barker and Molly running over to check on them. She raised a paw and gave them a thumbs up to let them know they were OK. "Oh, definitely proper breaks next time."

 

The magic corrupted the King's Guard, twisting their gnarled bodies, moving them against their will as they advanced on the knight. Battered, bleeding, her armor falling apart from the damage sustained, the knight did her best to stand ready for battle. Her broken sword drawn, she staggered forward until a massive scaled figure dropped in front of her.

The dragon's impact shook what remained of the castle walls, its leathery wings raised high, blocking the stars. "Get thee behind me, knight," the beast snarled. It reared its head back, and unleashed.... It unleashed... Hmmm.

 

River chewed on the back of her pencil as she looked down at her notebook. What would be the best method of attack for the dragon in this instance? She slid the notebook aside, reaching for another one beside her. She flipped it open to the character page she had written about the dragon, looking over its abilities.

"You 'it a snag?" Jacky asked. "Your tail's doin' that wavy thing again."

"Wavy thing?" River looked back to see her tail shaking up and down instead of side to side. "Wait, does it always do that when I'm writing?"

"Oh yeah, you got a tail tale," Jacky laughed. "Usually a sign you're in your zone." 

It was a sunny day out, summer in full swing, and they had decided to spend the day out in a fields near their home. River had resumed work on her writings, while Jacky was working on her drawings. Her paws were covered in paint as she worked them on the canvas.

River narrowed her eyes at her tail, and it stopped waving. "And you never told me?"

"Cause it's cute!" Jacky said. "And I'm not goin' to be the one to interrupt a writer at work." She looked at her work, and then began to use her paw to add some color to it. "What do you think, red scarf for a super 'ero, or too common?"

River studied the picture for a moment, it was some sort of armored hero, vaguely bug-like in its design, with a way oversized scarf flowing around it. "Common, but still works."

"Hey, girls!" came the voice of Spike through clenched teeth. He made his way across the field toward them, carrying a basket by the handle in his mouth.

"'Ello, Spike!" Jacky responded, reaching down to the grass to wipe the paint off her paws. It came off easily, none of it remaining on her fur once she was done. "Ditched Barker today?"

"Ah, him and his owners are out on a day trip to the next town over," Spike replied. "There were some leftovers from the BBQ my owner had last night, so thought I'd share the love today."

River set her notebook and pencil down, stretching before she got up and walked over. "Well thank you, Spike. That's really nice of you to think of us."

As River approached, Spike's face got flushed. "Oh, it was... ah.. Nothing. Just, you know, thought you two might want some good food and, well..."

"Well?" River asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Well, I... you know.. Just.... I SHOULD GET GOING!" Spike hastily said, turning tail and booking it across the field.

River stood there, staring blankly for a moment, then looked to Jacky. "He turned red and ran. Is he..."

"Oh, 'ee is absolutely smitten, love," Jacky laughed. She popped open the basket and peered inside. "Yeah, those look like very 'ealthy leftover portions. 'Ee wanted to impress you. 'Ee's just really nervous about it."

The saluki raised an eyebrow, looking toward where Spike had run off. "Huh. Well, we'll see if he ever works up the courage to do anything." She shrugged and looked in the basket. "Wow, coleslaw and everything."

 

Time passed, but didn't get anywhere.

"The plan is foolproof," Barker said, as he headed toward the local junkyard. "Once we get the supplies we need, we can rebuild the play equipment at the dog park. Then more people will see it as a fun place for their dogs, they'll start using it again, and the city won't shut it down for a stripmall."

Jacky rolled her eyes as she and River followed behind the trio of Barker, Spike, and Molly. "Because that's exactly 'ow these things work," she whispered sarcastically to River.

River leaned her head down to whisper back, "It does when it's the protagonist's plan at least. Just roll with it."

"What about Rex? How do you plan on dealing with him?" Molly asked.

Rex was... to call him a behemoth among dogs would be an understatement. Part mastiff, part deerhound, and they were pretty sure there was doberman, great dane, velociraptor, and st. bernard mixed in there as well. He was a mess of fur, teeth, and all sorts of bad news. You didn't mess with Rex if you wanted to make it home.

For a moment, Barker's bravado and confidence slipped. He gritted his teeth and then cleared his throat. "Rex.. we'll worry about if we need to. He could be asleep right now for all we know."

"Yeah, or 'ee's waitin' to gnaw your bloomin' face off the moment we step past the gates," Jacky replied. Barker threw a glare in her direction, and she shrugged in response. 

River was sure they had done something like this before, raiding the junkyard to get supplies to either fix something the humans had neglected, or were planning to shut down. Usually started with some big announcement on TV by a city official about something involving a place the dogs had some association with. Cue Barker getting in a tizzy about stopping it, recruiting the gang, and then coming up with some wild and/or crazy plan to save the thing. Standard operating procedure, really. Wasn't it the rec center Barker's kid owner used after school last time? Or was that the time before that? She was snapped out of her attempt to recall when she noticed Spike had dropped back next to her.

"Do you really think Rex will be that big of a problem?" he asked her, sounding worried.

She recalled how the first time they met Rex, he had thrown Spike into a dumpster, and injured the bulldog's leg. Normally injuries healed within hours, if not a day or two at most. That time was different for Spike. He had been laid up for weeks, and it was one of the few times she could remember someone getting seriously hurt. Gotta love plot related injuries. "Stick with us, Spike, we got your back," she said reassuringly.

The entrance laid before them. A wooden archway, with a sign reading "City Junkyard" gave way to a standard chain link fence, with barbed wire on top, running along the edges of the block it occupied. It looked like it didn't take up much space, but River and Jacky knew that inside there was somehow miles of scrapped cars, abandoned appliances, and other assorted scrap. Jacky swore last time they were here she had even found the remains of an old biplane.

"Still kind of freaky that this place is so dimensionaly transcendental," Jacky said.

"Isn't that your third Who reference today?" River said with a glance.

"Can't 'elp it, s'in me blood," Jacky laughed, and followed the others under the arch entrance.

Barker, Molly, and Spike all passed underneath the window to the check-in station without problem. As River and Jacky approached, the gate arm came down in front of them. The normally vibrant colors of the world suddenly became dull and muted, and everything slowed to a stop.

"What the 'eck?" Jacky asked, staring at the gate arm, and then their friends, frozen in place ahead of them.

"Don't worry, everything will start back up in a moment," a voice came from overhead.

Looking up, River and Jacky jumped back in surprise at the sight of a red, imp-like lady in a junkyard employee uniform, leaning over the edge of the booth's window and smiling down at them. Pointed ears, small, but visible horns sticking out from silver, shoulder length hair, fangs sticking down when her mouth was closed. Despite her devil-ish appearance, there was an oddly calming, and welcoming look to her demeanor.

"There's my good girls," she said, like an owner talking to her pets. "Don't got long, so we'll make this quick. Now, normally we'd try to let things play out without interference on our end, especially something this direct, but this situation is a bit... unique."

River's head tilted with curiosity. "Unique? In what way? What's going on? And how are y-"

The imp-lady interrupted before River could finish. "What's the status quo for a junkyard visit?"

"Normally the trio would come 'ere, get their stuff, and be on their way," Jacky replied. "S'ow it normally works, idn't it? What are-"

The imp-lady interrupted again. "Exactly! Barker would of course have an encounter with Rex, they'd have some sort of squabble, and then he somehow outsmarts the junkyard dog, you get the supplies you need, everything works out in the end. Hooray!" The imp explained. "Buuuut a few things have kind of fallen out of alignment in this realm at the moment. We're working on getting them back into place, of course, but as it would stand right now, Rex WILL eat Barker for lunch, no contest. And, well, where would that leave our story, hmm? Can't have one of our 3 main protagonists dead in a junkyard."

"So, you want us to do somethin' different?" Jacky asked. "Like, what? Drop an anvil on Rex's 'ead?"

"Effective, but nothing so violent," the imp replied. "Just that when things restart, and Barker says he wants to split up, you," she pointed at Jacky, "Go with Barker and Molly, and River goes with Spike. That simple, really. Now I know you two have a ton of questions, but I'm out of time." She leaned out from the window, reaching down to ruffle the fur on their heads. "You two are such good dogs to have around. Always have some 4th Wall breakers on the cast, they say. Right, I got to get back to work!"

"Wait, hang on, we-" River started, but the gate arm swung back up, and the world's colors suddenly returned, as did everything's movement. The imp-lady was gone, and there was no sign of her ever being there besides the questions the girls had. "-didn't get your name..."

"Ya know," Barker started, tapping his chin. "It might be a good idea if we split up. Would help speed up the search for everything."

They only had a few moments before it was decided how they'd split up. River spoke up, "Spike and I will go check the east side. Right, Spike?"

"What?" Spike asked, surprised. "Oh, hey, that sounds like a really good idea! I like that!"

"Yeah, and I'll tag along with you two, hmm?" Jacky said, as she walked over to Molly and Barker. "Can't let Molly have all the fun of seein' you mauled, 'ey?" She looked over to see River mouth the words 'Good luck,' before the group split up.

 

"Let's see, Molly said we need springs, and cable, didn't she?" River asked as she started rummaging through a junk pile. "Did she say how MUCH cable we needed?"

"About 12 feet, I think she said," Spike replied. He pushed a few pieces of debris away, and then looked over at River. "Hey, I..." he started, but felt himself freeze up, the words not wanting to come forward.

The saluki figured she knew what he was trying to say already. She'd been kind of anticipating something like this since Jacky first mentioned he might be sweet on her. How long ago did that happen anyway? Felt a lot longer ago than it could be, right? River gave a side glance at Spike, and then back at the pile, sorting through the junk. She managed to find a cable in the pile, and gave it a tug. It was loose, but took some effort to finally get started. Seemed like he was getting cold feet, maybe nerves? "What was that?"

"I was just...." Spike began. "I was thinking and..." His white face fur began to turn red and he looked down at the worn out mattress next to his own junk pile. "...Maybe these springs would work?"

Yeah, bailed out due to cold feet trope, River thought to herself. She finished winding the cable, and turned to look at Spike and the mattress. "They would probably work if they're not too rusted." She walked over and began to tear at the fabric to reveal the springs inside. 

"These look to be pretty good," River said. Of course they were, not a single spec of rust to be seen on any of them. The mattress might as well have been still in use. She began to undo the springs, not looking at Spike. "I know, by the way."

"Know what?" Spike asked, sounding nervous.

"You're many things, Spike, but someone who can hide their emotions is not one of them," River replied. "Also this is probably the 15th time you've tried to say you're interested in me, only to deflect it to something else at hand."

The american bulldog's face got flushed. "Oh geez, have I really done it that much?"

River chuckled, "At least. Points for continuing to try though."

"So, if I asked if I even had a chance..." Spike started.

"I would tell you that right now I'm just not ready to commit to any sort of relationship like that," River replied. "With any dog. I've got some things I want to sort out first before I take that step." That was true. There were a lot of things about this world, and their own nature, that River wanted to better understand before trying anything like that. This seemed simpler to explain than trying to explain that she sees reality in a totally different way than him though. The way she could see when things repeat, both figuratively and literally for the scenery sometimes, how by understanding story mechanics they could easily figure out how best to resolve a situation before it happened sometimes, or that ongoing orchestral music gently playing at all times. Best to leave that her secret for now.

"Are we at least still cool?" Spike asked, worried. "Or have I made things awkward?"

"Of course we're cool," River replied. "Come on, let's get these springs and-" She was cut off by the sounds of crashing metal and grinding steel, followed by very. Angry. Shouting. 

"OF ALL THE BLOOMIN' IDIOTIC PLOTS TO THROW AT ME!" came a rather irate sounding Jacky in the distance. 

Moments later, River and Spike saw the others returning, Barker and Molly wheeling a cart of supplies, a frazzled furred Jacky grousing and ranting as she trudged behind them.

"Swoonin' like a love sick pup in this flippin' story today!" Jacky snarled. "Could've 'ad the day off to eat ice cream and watchin' telly, but OH NO, off to the junkyard to deal with lonely mutt boy!"

"Do I dare ask?" River said, raising an eyebrow.

Molly cleared her throat, "It would seem that Rex might have an interest in our British friend here."

"INTEREST MY FUZZY TAIL!" Jacky exclaimed. "'Ee tried to go all Pepe Lepew croonin' when I caught 'im tryin' to gnaw off Barker's face! Bugger me, that fleabag WOULDN'T STOP!"

"It actually was kind of disturbing," Barker replied. "Still, watching Jacky headbutt him right in the dome will be the highlight of the day for me."

"Personally, I liked when he stumbled back into the junk tower and toppled it. That'll keep him out long enough for us to get this stuff out of here," Molly said. "Come on, I had an idea on what we can do with some of this scrap that might liven the park up some."

Gathering up their supplies, the group began making their way out of the junkyard, Jacky ranting away the entire time.

 

Time's arrow remained in its quiver.

The summer sun shined brightly in the sky. The clouds were few and far between, and the peaceful strings of the world's ambient 'riverside theme' played gently in the background for the girls to hear. The river was calm, the water cool, and the mood was relaxing.

River sat in the body of water that was her namesake, the river that ran outside of town, resting her arms and head on a large rock. A large pair of sunglasses rested on her muzzle as she relaxed and took things easy.

Beside her, floating on her back, the gentle river currant gave Jacky just enough push to put the smaller canine into a slow spin. "River, I've been thinkin'."

Not one to miss a chance at a playful rib, River joked, "Careful not to over strain yourself."

"'Ahaha," Jacky replied sarcastically. "Seriously though, I've been thinkin'. Do you think we 'ave like.. proper backstories?"

"What do you mean?" River asked.

"Well, like, Barker and them all 'ave backstories and 'istories, right? 'Is granddad was a world class agility course dog, and 'ee's a rescue. Molly's the daughter of two big time police dogs, and was trained in all their techniques as a pup. Spike 'elped save 'is owners from a fire when 'ee was just a wee lad. Do WE got that?"

Her spin brought her around where she could look at River directly. "'Cause the only memories of this place I've got started after we 'woke up.' No family 'istory, or anythin' like that. And anytime there's talk that could lead to us talkin' about our pasts, it gets interrupted by somethin' and the topic at 'and gets derailed."

River thought for a long moment before replying. "I don't think we do. At least nothing that immediately comes to mind. Usually in-depth backstories would be saved for the main cast, wouldn't they? We're backgrounders, we'd only really get something like that if the storyline called for it."

"So," Jacky started, her spin starting to turn her away from River. "What if we just made somethin' up? Like, we just came up with our own? Think the world would adapt, or would it be like a big lie we just had to maintain?"

"Honestly, I have no idea, and I'm not sure I want to find out," River replied, lifting her sunglasses up. "If it adapts, what would we do if we tried to do something that got problematic? Like we came up with backstories that caused conflicts with someone else's? Or had some unforeseen side-effect we couldn't anticipate? What would we be able to do to fix it? We'd be stuck constantly trying to rewrite the world to make things better."

Jacky frowned, "That doesn't sound very fun at all."

A loud, panicked howl pierced the air, and the girls looked down the river toward a nearby bridge. Barker, wearing a clown costume and make-up for some reason, was running as fast as he could. Behind him was a very angry bear, also in a clown costume and make-up, running in pursuit of the german shepherd. On the bear's back was Molly, dressed in an acrobat's leotard, her jaw in a vice-like grip at the back of the bear's neck, getting thrown up and down as the bear lumbered after Barker. The girls watched the trio run across the bridge, and vanish into the distance.

"Also, the more in-depth backstories we wind up with, the more likely we'd have to play bigger parts in fixing problems like that," River said.

"Yeah, not even goin' to start touchin' that one," Jacky said, letting herself relax back into her gentle spin.

River knocked her sunglasses back down, and rested her head back on her paws. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

 

River kept shifting her front paws as she sat waiting for Jacky to finish reading through the notebook. She was tempted to pace around the inside of the van, but that might be too distracting for the cockapoo at the moment.

Jacky finally flipped the last page, and closed the notebook. She remained silent for a long moment, then looked at River. "I need to know 'ow this ends. NOW."

"Good?" River asked, hopeful.

"Flippin' BRILL, River!" Jacky exclaimed, jumping to her feet, tail wagging behind her. "The 'ole world came alive, and the characters were amazin'! Loved the dragon, she's great, didn't expect 'er to bust out that technique at the end, but made perfect sense to do so. There's more, right? You got the next story?"

River nodded, "About 4 more notebooks worth of them actually."

"You 'ave GOT to get these published, or at least put out there for others to read," Jacky said. "You can't just let this set in a notebook forever."

The saluki rubbed the back of her neck, "Not really sure how well that'll work. Whole 'I'm a dog and people don't understand me when I talk' deal."

"Yeah, that might pose a bit of a sticky wicket," Jacky said. Her eyes lit up, and she ran to the other end of the van. "'Ang on! I think I saw something in the paper that might 'elp!" Finding what she was looking for, Jacky walked over over and laid the newspaper out in front of River. 

In the bottom corner of the page was an ad, black and white, showing a dog with reading glasses sitting in front of an older computer. 'Looking to get published, but afraid to show the world who you are? We can help! Bring your typed manuscripts to Imperial Red Publishing and get started today!' Below the image was an address, and a familiar, smiling, imp-like face.

"Her again," River said as she looked over the ad.

"Kind of funny 'ow you finish your big story the same day she 'as an ad out, 'ey?" Jacky asked.

River thought for a moment, "10 bucks says Barker and the others would think it a grand mystery to be solved, 'who is the mystery writer?' later on."

"Aw, sucker bet!" Jacky laughed. "But yeah, totally would 'appen. Still... we could 'ave fun with that."

"We really could. Oh, but we're going to need some way to type all these up," River said. 

The two remained silent for a moment, then spoke at the same time. "Dumpster at the electronic store."

 

"Let's see, wrappers, boxes, more wrappers, thing I'd rather not think about," Jacky said as she rummaged through the dumpster of the city's big electronic store. "Printer cable! Found a cable! Bound to be other parts 'ere!"

River nodded, digging through the dumpster next to Jacky's. Lots of basic trash, with various bits of busted computers. The saluki pushed aside a broken monitor, and pulled out a briefcase sized object. "Hey, Jacky! I think I got something." She climbed out from the dumpster, dropping the object on the pavement. "Let's see here, ah!" She clicked the tabs on the front and the top flipped open. The old, bulky laptop sprung to life, its green and black screen displaying single color icons.

It wasn't in pristine condition. It was dusty, and the casing showed some cracks from abuse, but it ran. That was what was important at the moment. River checked the icons, and nodded to herself. "Got a writing program, I think this'll work."

"Brill," Jacky replied, as she popped up at the top of her dumpster. "Cause I just found the printer for the cable." She triumphantly held the printer above her head.

 

Getting the printed novel into town proved to be the biggest struggle of the entire project. Here they were though, the front door of Imperial Red Publishing standing before them. The stylized face of the Imp-lady graced the windows alongside the company logo, this was definitely the place.

"So.. do we knock?" Jacky asked.

River gave the front door a test push, watching as it casually swung open. "I think we just go inside."

The two shrugged to each other, and began wheeling their wagon with River's writings inside. At the front desk was the imp from the junkyard. "Well look who has graced my doorstep, my favorite strays! Knew you wouldn't miss that ad. Have any trouble getting things typed up?"

River wiggled her forepaw like it had fingers, "Keyboards took some getting used to, might be some spelling errors."

The imp waved it off, "Nothing that can't be fixed." She came out from behind the desk, and started looking through the pages. "Hmmm, ah, yes, hmmmm," she stopped and looked at the girls. "I'm required to make those noises while reading submissions, sorry."

"Any chance we might get some information on just who you are exactly, while we're 'ere?" Jacky asked.

"As far as anyone in town is concerned, I'm just a local publisher," The imp-lady replied, putting the paperwork back into the wagon. "For you two though, just think of me as a friend who can see the world like you do, and probably more." She reached down and took the wagon handle. "Hate to cut your visit short, but I do have some clients due in here in about-" She checked her watch, "2 minutes? And they're both allergic to dogs. So I'm going to look this over, and you'll hear back from me on what we can do. And don't worry about the whole author's photo on the back cover deal, we got a GREAT stand-in for you, River."

The two watched the imp snap her fingers, and the wagon vanished in a flurry of sparkles. "Right, OK then, come on, Jacky. Let's head home, I guess?" River said, unsure.

The imp-lady started to walk them out, pausing by the door to kneel down and begin scratching behind their ears. "If it helps any, you should know that the books you're about to get published are going to put a lot of things in motion for both human and animal alike in this world. It'll be an inspiration to many, and motivate so many more. While there is the status quo of this reality to be maintained, there are still some things in the back that need to move forward. Changes so subtle you might not even notice them at first. This will help that." She ruffled their fur and then opened the door for them. "You're good dogs, both of you."

The two began to step out, but River paused, looking back at the imp. "I know we're not going to get the exposition we want, but could we at least get a name for you this time?"

There was a small smile, and for a moment, the imp-lady looked to be in thought. "I'm not sure you'd actually be able to pronounce it, if I'm perfectly honest. So for now, why don't we go with something simple? Call me 'Charm.'"

 

"I want to be the racecar."

"You get to be the racecar when we play the other game!"

"Which is why I should be the racecar here instead of the thimble!"

"Would you two cease this useless arguing? No one is going to care who uses what piece."

River looked over the scene, and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Everything had gone well up to this point at least. Get the gang together, get some snacks, set up a nice table, and then try out the new mechanics for the latest edition of her favorite tabletop game. It'd taken some time to get everything she needed. Gathering up enough pieces to stand-in for the game's miniatures had been simple enough, just raid some of the board games they had stashed. The dungeon master screen and guide books, those took a little bit longer. Fortunately a slightly worn and used set became available when one of the local human made playgroups got annoyed after a total party wipe and quit on the spot.

To her left, Spike and Molly were comparing stats and traits of the available species. In front of her, Barker and Jacky arguing over the board game pieces. Finally, to her right, Morgan and Percival, relative newcomers to the group, were trying to work up a backstory for the Paladin they had rolled up. The two afghan hounds had opted to share a character, the couple seemingly able to work perfectly in sync anytime she'd seen them together.

The silver afghan, Morgan, looked over at Barker and Jacky in annoyance. "As far as I'm concerned, you're both acting like thimble-ciles over this."

"Oh, that was quite the good zinger, dear!" Percival laughed. The gold afghan patted his boyfriend on the head and turned back to their character sheet.

"Thank you, love! I do try. Now, I think Reginald should have a rather fanciful schooling under his belt, don't you?" Morgan asked.

Jacky shot a look of scorn at the pun-insult, but then let out a relenting sigh. "Fine, fine, take the bloomin' racecar, I'll use the thimble. Not sure why a Barbarian would need a racecar though."

Barker's tail began to wag as he gleefully took the racecar mini and placed it on the map River and Jacky had worked together to make for the game. "Because my barbarian needs to travel in style."

"Oh, if the racecar is for style, then CLEARLY Reginald should be represented by it," Morgan said, reaching over to slide the racecar over to his and Percival's side of the table. 

"Yes, yes, that would make more sense!" Percival agreed. He took their piece, the iron, and tossed it over to Barker. "This seems more the barbarian's course, hmm?"

Barker scoffed, "What?! No way, Strongneck BreakBones is not going to be an iron! He pumps iron but-"

"Pumping iron, is represented by an iron, seems logical, yes?" Percival asked Morgan.

"Most assuredly," Morgan replied. He looked over at Jacky. "What say you, Ms. Jacqueline?

"Oh, if it keeps him from gettin' the car, I'm goin' to agree with anythin' you say," Jacky laughed. She put the thimble token down on the map for her Ranger.

"I'm going to agree with them just to cut off the argument," River said flatly. "And as the DM here, I think I get the final say in that."

Barker opened his mouth to argue, but then scrunched his face up, crossing his forepaws in front of him. "Fine, FINE!"

Molly held up her character sheet for River to look over, "How's this?"

"Not bad," River replied. "They'll work pretty well with the rest of the team."

"Got mine too!" Spike said cheerfully, and placed a shoe token on the map with the others.

"OK then, are we all good?" River asked, looking around the table.

The other dogs nodded, and got settled in. 

River double checked everything behind her screen and flipped open her notes. "Your journey begins in the small town of Barksburg..."

 

Time marched on, standing in place.

 

It was a cloudless night, the stars shone brightly, and a full moon hung in the air. A gentle breeze cooled the evening just enough to be comfortable. It was, for many, the perfect evening, but for others it was anything but. For one individual, the evening was all that remained for a miserable, horrible, no good, flaming rubbish bin of a day.

It wasn't meant to be though. Spike had planned this evening out to be perfect, the culmination of an amazing 3 months. 3 months of joy, 3 months of happiness, 3 months of him and a husky named Jerrica being together. He had planned it all out. They'd have started with dinner in the alley behind the steakhouse. Then they'd make their way to catch a movie at the drive-in, and end the evening up on Lookout Hill where they could watch the town nightlife hussle and bussle.

That had been the plan at least. He never factored in finding out Jerrica had just been using him to try and get close to Barker. How she was actually trying to steal a rare necklace from Barker's owner's jewelry collection, a necklace worth far more than anyone ever realized. Who would have ever suspected it?

River had. Kind of hard to overlook when you could catch the villain of the story monologuing whenever they thought no one else was around. She tried to warn the others, but her words either fell on deaf ears, or got derailed before she could speak. She managed to convince Molly something was going down, and last she heard, the K-9 Police Unit had run Jerrica straight out of town before any damage could be done. Except for Spike's emotional well being it seemed. 

"Hey," River said as she walked over to sit beside Spike at the edge of the overlook.

"Hey," Spike replied softly, staring down at the grass and rocks far below them.

The two sat in a long silence before Spike finally spoke up. "Do you think she ever actually cared?"

"Can't really speak for her," River replied. "She was kind of a horrible dog."

"She kinda turned out to be, yeah. I just thought maybe she-," Spike started, but paused. He looked like he was considering his words before he spoke again, "I thought maybe *I* had finally found the one, you know? I mean, look around us. Barker has Molly, Morgan has Percy, just thought this might be my chance to be like them and have something special."

"Spike, love is a great thing, yes, but you don't have to have a relationship like they have to have something special with someone," River said. 

"Isn't that the point though? To have someone you're madly in love with for all your days?" Spike asked.

River considered her answer. "For some, maybe, but that isn't the same for everyone. For many it is more about the bond, the companionship. It is about knowing you have someone nearby that you trust. Love and relationships are different for everyone. Love is never just one thing that is so easily described. It's complicated, finicky, and confusing. For instance, I love Jacky, and she loves me, but we're not a couple. Yet we still have that bond that connects us, that gets us through the rough times together. She is one of the two most important dogs in my life. That's something very special, and it isn't a bond you form with just anyone."

"Two, huh? Let me guess, Barker?" Spike asked. "All the girls seem to flock around him eventually."

"Because he has a protagonist field," River said with a short laugh, before quickly adding, "but no, the other is you, Spike."

Spike looked ready to ask what River meant about the field, but the last part caught him off guard. "Wait, me? But at the junkyard you said..."

"When we're in trouble, you're always there before anyone else. Something goes wrong, you're there to help. You put your own well being on the line for those around you, and if I'm to be perfectly honest, you're far cooler than Barker could ever hope to be," River said. "We have something special between us. It isn't like what Barker and Molly, or Percy and Morgan have, but it is no less special. It's just different."

The two remained in silence for a beat after River spoke, letting the words settle before she added, "Also, you bring me barbecue, and no other dog does that."

Spike laughed, his mood genuinely starting to improve. "My owner does make a good barbecue. She's got the best recipes." He took a deep breath and looked out over the city, and started to smile again. "Was hoping to share this place with Jerrica tonight, it's one of my favorite spots in town."

"Oh yeah?" River asked.

The american bulldog nodded, "You can see almost everything, the window lights kinda like stars on the ground with how scattered they look sometimes. Heh, lately when I've been coming up here, I swear I've started hearing music in the sky. Is that weird?"

River looked at Spike for a long moment, then looked out at the town, listening to the soft tones of Lookout Hill's violin theme. "No, Spike, I think that's wonderful."

 

Jacky slid the door open, letting out a wide yawn, "Yeah, watcha want this early in the morn'?"

"Jacky! Perfect, I've got a big plan and I'm going to need your he-" Barker started to say moments before Jacky slammed the van door shut in his face.

River rubbed at her face with a paw as she sat up from her couch-bed, "Who is it, Jacky?"

"Plot," Jacky deadpanned. "With a capital Barker." She flinched when she heard the german shepherd knocking on the door again. "'Ee's not goin' away, is 'ee?"

"Probably not till you hear him out at least," River said, stretching out her forelegs before laying back down.

With a resigned sigh, Jacky walked back over and opened the door again.

"Rude?" Barker commented, then shook his head. "Anyway, there's this dog show that's going to go down later this week, and the winning pooch gets a prize of $1000."

"Mm, not a bad purse," Jacky said.

"Exactly! And there's this new doggy exercise machine, the K9-Beta4, that Molly has had her eyes on," Barker said. "See where I'm going with this?"

Jacky nodded, "Win the prize, snag it for your girl, get smooches."

"Little bit more to it than that, but kinda, yeah," Barker replied.

"So, what's this about needin' little ol' me then," Jacky asked.

"Well you're big into the dog shows, aren't you?" asked Barker.

"In that I enjoy watchin' them, yeah," Jacky replied.

"Aaaaand you're always talking about how your mom was this big award winning show pooch, and started teaching you about it as a pup, right?" Barker followed up.

Jacky raised an eyebrow at Barker, "What? When did I say th-" It was like someone suddenly threw a switch, and Jacky's mouth seemed to go into autopilot. "I mean, yeah, 9 time grand champ, placed top 3 in 16 others." 

River lifted her head from her pillow, giving Jacky an odd look, as the cockapoo continued to talk.

"But I've never competed, Barker, plus you know, the whole bein' a stray dog thing kind of gettin' in the way of the paperwork," Jacky said, looking as confused about the words coming out of her mouth as River did hearing them.

Barker seemed not to notice anything, merely shrugging in response. "I've got a plan for that too! Meet me over at corner near my house after 3, and you'll see!"

"After 3, got it, I'll be there," Jacky said, before watching Barker head off. She closed the door, and whatever proverbial switch that had been flipped seemed to be flipped back. The honey colored dog just stared at the door in silence and confusion.

"Jacky, are you OK?" River asked. "What the heck was THAT?"

"I," Jacky started, but couldn't seem to find her words. She shook her head, "Did I just get backstoried?"

"Seeing as how neither of us had memories of cartoon parents, I think you might just have," River said, hopping down to the floor and walking over. "Any new memories? A name?"

Jacky thought for a moment, "Sort of? Couple images of a cocker spaniel walking me through dog show etiquette. Then just the stuff I said to Barker. But no, no name."

River nodded and rubbed her chin, "So a small backstory, but nothing too major. Just vague enough for what would be needed for Barker's plotline."

"Oooh, I don't think I like that," Jacky said. "Just messin' with me head at any given moment?"

"You can still tell what's new though, so maybe not such a bad thing?" River said, before adding. "Not yet, at least. Let's see how this plays out and if things get weird, we go find our devil lady friend and talk with her."

 

"This is RUBBISH," Jacky said with a growl as Barker finished explaining his grand plan to her. Unlike most of his plans, there actually was a simplicity to it all. There was a young girl on his block that wanted to be part of a dog show, but didn't own a dog. Jacky was a dog who could complete but didn't have an owner. Just put them together, right?

"Oh come on, it'll work!" Barker countered. "You two will be perfect for each other! Give me a good reason it won't."

There were numerous reasons Jacky could think of, like the girl's parents shooing her away, the general chaos of a stray being taken in by a family in general, and of course how Barker would get the prize money from the girl if Jacky actually won. This however, if the earlier railroading was any indication, was going to be a thing whether she went with it willingly or not.

She let out a resigned breath and began primping her ears, "Right, whatever, lets just get on with it then." 

Barker's face lit up, "Great! OK! Just wait for my cue, and work your magic." He walked over to edge of the fence that marked the end of his yard and the neighbor's, peering around the corner at the girl playing in the yard. "Maggie's out and about, so we just have to wait for the right moment."

Jacky sat back. 'The right moment' more than likely would be some time when Maggie said something about the dog show and wanting to participate, but oh if she only had a dog that could compete.

"If ONLY we had a dog that could compete! I could show mom that I was mature enough to handle that kind of responsibility," Maggie said on cue.

By the time Barker had given his signal, Jacky had already strolled past him, stepping out in front of Maggie's yard and striking a pose. Events played out as she expected them to, she managed to impress Maggie with some tricks and reacting to proper commands without training, amped up her cute happy-dog-face factor, and was sworn to ultra-top-secrecy that she wouldn't tell Maggie's parents about their daughter's plans to enter the dog show with her. A little while later, after Maggie had been called inside for dinner, she rejoined Barker on the sidewalk.

"Wow, you were a natural at that," Barker said with genuine amusement. "It was like you knew everything she was going to ask you to do before she asked it."

"Good at me job," Jacky said.

 

Weeks passed, with Jacky and Maggie working together in preparation for the show. Finally the big day arrived. A nice bath, bit of a fur trim to rid of some knots, and Jacky found herself sitting on a podium alongside a cavalcade of other dogs, all waiting for their moment in the spotlight.

Looking around at the competition, Jacky had to admit she was feeling a little excited about the whole thing. The problem was, was this genuine excitement, or just something this particular story was needing her to feel. Worse yet, in the long run, did it matter which was the source? The universe needed her to be here at this show for whatever reason, and here she was. She might could win this too. Just got to go out there and-

"PSST! Jacky!"

"GWAH!" the cockapoo exclaimed at the sudden whisper scaring her out of thoughts. She clutched her chest with a paw, looking around until she saw River and Spike poking their heads out from the table next to her podium. "BLIMEY, YOU TWO! Give a girl a heart attack why don't you?"

The two larger dogs looked around, and then snuck out from their hiding spot over to the podium. "Hey, we couldn't miss your big day, now could we?" River replied.

"They're showin' it on the telly," Jacky said.

"Yeah, but then we miss all the behind the scenes fun!" Spike said cheerfully. "And all the gossip amongst the contestants. Who has fur implants, who had nose work done to aid in their breathing, all the juicy stuff!"

River nodded in agreement, "Pretty much."

Jacky laughed, "Well, just try not to get caught snoopin' without a leash, or they might just... toss.. you.." Her words seemed to slip away from her, mouth hanging open as she caught sight of a dog walking across the floor.

A rough collie, sable and white fur shining under the lights. Jacky was pretty sure dogs didn't glow, but it was like there was a halo of light around the herding dog. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion as she tracked it across the floor. She could feel her heart beating as the dog tossed its head, its fur cascading around it like it was in a shampoo commercial. For a moment, she swore the collie was looking back at her, before focussing its attention back ahead.

"Jacky? Jaaaacky?" River asked, then spotted what her roommate was watching. "Oh. Oooooh," she said with realization.

"Oh? What oh?" Spike asked. "Did anyone else just notice things sorta slow down for a second there? That was weird."

River looked at Spike for a moment, "I think, and this is just a theory, that means our small British friend here might have just discovered her type."

"Yeah... me type..." Jacky said, not really paying attention. Her ears flicked, and she shook her head, snapping out of it. "'Ang on! What do you mean 'type?!' I don't 'ave a type!"

"You were kind of oggling that collie," Spike said.

Jacky scoffed, "I was not! I was... just.. scoutin' the competition, and they were walkin' by!"

River got the widest of grins, "Which is exactly why you're redder than ketchup right now." She began bouncing back and forth on her paws. "Oh we absolutely have to see how this plays out. Spike, think we should try and get them to meet?"

"WHAT?! YOU TWO BOTH STOP!" Jacky snapped, her face flushed red.

Spike contemplated, over exaggeratingly stroking his lower muzzle. "It would be fun to see her all flustered after all the times she teased me about my crush on you. My dear River, shall we venture out and play matchmaker?"

River snorted as she laughed, "Why my dear, sir, let us do just that!" 

"Wait, no, stop! Don't you two dare!" Jacky said, starting to panic as the two dogs walked off from her podium.

Once out of range, Spike asked, "Let her sweat?"

"Oh yeah, they're already going to come across each other in the actual show, so we don't have to do a thing," River said. She glanced over at Spike, "Did you actually see time slow down back there?"

"It felt like it, yeah," Spike said, his face scrunching up in thought. "To be honest, it seems like I'm seeing a lot of weird stuff like that lately. Maybe I should get my owners to take me in for a check-up, make sure I'm OK."

River shook her head, "I think you'll be fine. Hey, lets go raid the catering table in the back and you can tell me more about it?"

 

"OK, pup! Time to get in line with the others!" Maggie said cheerfully as she lead Jacky out to the main stage.

Jacky followed, still grumbling to herself about earlier. 'Her type,' of all the nerve. She was a lone dog, sort of lone dog. She had friends yes, but that's a different kind of lone dog arch type than what she considered herself. She didn't have a type! If anything, this was CLEARLY the forces of storytelling messing with her head again. That was it. Obviously. Right?

"Oh, it IS you!" a voice came from behind her.

Jacky nearly jumped out of her fur, again, turning around in surprise, "SECOND TIME TODAY! Doesn't anyone know not to sneak up on a girl like that! You.. might-" Her voice trailed off as she saw who was talking to her. There were the lights, and halo glow again, and that was definitely an addition of sparkles around the collie. The same collie from before, now standing right behind her.

"Ah was hopin' tae rin intae ye. Saw ye earlier durin' the setup but mah owner wooldn't heed 'at way fur me tae say hi," the collie spoke with a friendly scottish voice. "Name's Mars!"

"Ja-Jacky," Jacky managed to say, finding her voice.

"That's a fine name fur a bonnie wee dog. Thes yer owner wi' ye?" Mars asked, motioning their head toward Maggie.

"Who? Maggie? Just ah, sorta, borrowin' 'er, really," Jacky said with mild embarrassment. "She needed a dog to compete, I needed an owner to get in. Seemed to work out so far."

"Wonderful! Always nice tae help th' wee ones out, isn't it?" Mars laughed. The larger collie scuffed a paw on the astroturf floor, looking around for a moment, and then back at Jacky. "Ur ye daein' anythin' later efter th' shaw is ower?"

"Hadn't planned on it, w-why?" Jacky asked. Oh dear, was this happening? She thought to herself.

Mars cleared their throat, seeming about as nervous as Jacky felt, "Mah owner is probably gonnae gang mingle wi' th' other humans afterwards. Ah was wonderin' if ye might want tae hit up th' caterin' table possibly? Ah hear they've got imported dog biscuits."

This was just the universe driving a story, that's all it was. The universe clearly wanted a side story with her and this collie. Jacky felt a tug at her lead, as Maggie started stepping forward toward the judges. Just intrusive thoughts, ignore them, ignore them. Ah, what did she have to lose? Jacky shouted back at Mars, "Yes, yes we should absolutely do that!"

"See ye thaur, lass!" Mars shouted back.

With a little more pep in her step, Jacky followed Maggie over to the judging area. She looked over at the judges and felt her ears raise in surprise. Was that...

Charm gave a small wink as she and the other judges began inspecting Jacky. 

Jacky said in a hushed voice, "What are you doin' 'ere? Am I supposed to win this after all?"

"That would be a big spoiler, wouldn't it?" Charm replied softly, poking at Jacky's left ear. "And don't mind me, I just volunteered for the job. I love working with dogs, you should know that by now."

"Yeah, seems to make sense," Jacky said. "Wait, 'ang on, are you lot doin' the thing with me and Mars over there?" The cockapoo motioned her head toward the collie in line. 

Charm's eyebrow raised, "Mars? I don't know of any Mars in today's script." She looked over, at the collie, then Jacky, then back at Mars. Like at the junkyard, everything suddenly slowed to a stop, the world's colors fading as Charm pulled out a second clipboard from behind her and walked over to the collie. "What have they been doing?"

"Well first they showed up all halo-effect around'em, fur flowin' like a shampoo commercial. Then they were flirtin' with me, and while I can't say it hasn't been appreciated, just makin' sure I'm not gettin' railroaded like the rest of today's adventure, 'ey?" Jacky said.

The imp began taking notes, then looked back at Jacky with the widest grin on her face. "Oh, this is new. Very new, unexpected new, the best kind of new! Anything happening here, that isn't our writers, that's all you and them, Jacky." She put away her second clipboard and rubbed her hands together enthusiastically, "I can't wait to bring this up in the report later." The world started back up once more as she returned to Jacky. "Do let me know how that plays out, hmm?"

Jacky went to reply, but Charm and the judges were already moving on, and Maggie was dragging her away to the side to wait for the final results. So this wasn't her getting railroaded after all.

"Oh my dog, I have a type," she said to herself in realization.

 

"3rd place?!" Barker exclaimed after hearing the news. "All that work and you got 3rd?!"

"Pretty much," Jacky replied. Her tail wagged proudly behind her as she climbed back up into her van, "Not bad for me first time."

"But 3rd place's prize was only $250! There's no way I'll be able to get Molly's gift with just that," Barker said in frustration.

"Yeaaah, about that," Jacky started. "Maggie's parents found out she 'ad secretly entered into the show, and showed up right after the rankings were announced. Me girl got a nice lecture about keeping secrets of course, but seems 'er parents matched the prize money and she got 'erself a new gaming console."

"And you get yourself a spiffy new home, while I'm left wondering what to do about Molly," Barker huffed.

"What? Nah, I slipped off when the family was distracted with the 'elp of a friend," Jacky replied, thinking back to how Charm had given her the best escape route. "Met up with Mars, we 'ad ourselves a nice little chat, and now we're going to be meeting up this weekend for lunch."

Barker looked ready to say something sarcastic, but took a breath and smiled, "Well, I'm glad something good came out of this at least. Good for you two. OK, back to square one for figuring out a gift for Molly. Catch you later, Jacky."

Jacky closed the van door behind her as Barker left, and went to setup her 3rd Place trophy on the van's dashboard. Stepping back to admire it, she thought that next time a dog show rolled into town she might head back to see if Maggie wanted to give it another shot. This time it'd be her own choice in competing.

 

"So he's been acting weird lately?" Charm asked, sitting behind her desk at the publisher's office.

River and Jacky both nodded, and the saluki replied. "Not weird like something's strange, but I guess more like weird in the sense that Jacky and I are."

They had come to see Charm to ask about Spike. Ever since the night at Lookout Peak the bulldog had been talking more about seeing and hearing things that up to this point only River, Jacky, and Charm ever acknowledged. The world's music, slow-motion moments, coloring errors, all of it.

"Yeah, we just want to know if we should be doin' somethin' or not to help him," Jacky said. "He's our friend, and this has got to be a weird time if he's, you know, 'wakin' up.'"

Charm tapped a pen lightly against one of her horns, "The best you can do for him right now is be supportive, and don't let him think he's going insane. BUT you also can't just spill the whole plot to him at once. If he's about to have an awakening, it has to happen naturally. Trying to force it to happen quicker could actually hurt him psychologically in the long run. It has to be on his time."

She leaned forward, looking at the two dogs sitting in her office chairs, "With you two, it was something different. The moment you were in this world, you were aware of how it worked. That was on purpose, because it lets individuals like myself have someone that can be relied on when things go screwy. A couple of good dogs I can turn to when things go off script too badly."

"But with Spike, it's something unaccounted for?" River asked.

Charm shrugged, "It isn't unheard of, though normally it's the protagonist and not one of the sidekick characters. That's why it gets tricky, because even if he wakes up to what reality is, he's still needed, he has a part to play in this world, just like you two do. Letting it happen gradually instead of one big shock to the system should, going by previous instances, let him come to terms with it in a way that still lets him see his friends and family as friends and family and not just bit players in some cosmic story."

She motioned to the girls, "You two, you're aware of how the world is, that time is roughly stationary, and that there are some strings being pulled behind the scenes, but do you still see the others as your friends?"

"Of course we do," River replied. "They're just as alive as we are, even if they don't see the bigger picture."

"And THAT is what Spike will have to come to realize as well, otherwise he might break," Charm said. "So, be there for him, help him, but don't spoil the ending for him. When he's ready, we'll step in, all three of us together, and help him down that last leg of the journey."

 

She had been sleeping peacefully, a nice afternoon nap, when there came a knock at the van exterior. River let out a wide and toothy yawn, stretching her forepaws before getting to her feet. She peered out the van's window, before dropping down to slide the side door open. "Percy? What are you doing way out here? Little bit far from the suburbs for you, isn't it?"

Percival seemed antsy, scuffing a paw at the ground, "Yes, well, one must learn to venture from the comforts of city life into the great wild at some point, mustn't they?" He looked at the rusted out spots on the van River and Jacky called home. "Though I must say, you and Jacqueline are braver strays than I realized for staying in such... antiquated... surroundings."

River leaned against the side of the van door frame and laughed, "It isn't much, but it has everything we need. But you didn't come out here just to talk housing, did you? This isn't another attempt at trying to get Jacky and I setup with 'proper' owners is it?"

"No, no!" Percival quickly responded. "We learned our lesson the last time with the corn. No more of that. I actually came out here to request your assistance."

River tilted her head curiously, "What can I help you with?"

"I," Percival began, "am in need of a ghost writer. I wish to give Morgan a poem for our anniversary, one that reflects the passion and fire we feel for one another! And I thought that the author of the 'Dragon's Shieldmaiden' series would be a good place to start."

The saluki stared in stunned silence at Percival, that was the series she had been writing for Charm's publishing company. "I'm not sure why you'd come to me for that, Percy. I look nothing like the author on the book cover."

"Pish posh!" Percival responded. "It may fool the rest of the masses, but I've played in enough of your campaigns to recognize your style." He swept the ground beneath him with his tail, and then sat down. "Character types, story beats, the voice of the dragon is very similar to one you used in the Dark Chariot campaign last month. I'm not sure how you're doing it, nor at this point am I concerned about it. I just want to know if you'd be able to help me? Please?"

River thought for a moment, "Have you told anyone else?"

"What? And ruin the mystery? OF COURSE NOT!" Percival said, sounding offended. "They can figure it out on their own if they're intelligent enough."

"A poem to reflect your love?" River asked.

Percival nodded, "In your wheelhouse?"

"I think that can happen, but you're going to help. I can write it, but they need to be based on YOUR words, your feelings. I'll help spruce them up where I can," River said. She then added, "Next time your owner gets a bag of those jerky snaps, you bring them here?"

"Deal," Percival agreed. "A fair trade indeed!"

 

Time waited to see what may come.

 

"A vacation," River said suddenly, sitting up from her van-sofa bed. "We should take a vacation."

Jacky rolled over onto her side and looked up at the saluki. "Didn't we just get back from that trip with the others a few weeks ago?"

River shook her head, "No, a PROPER vacation, not something tied to everyone else's plot. Just the two of us, somewhere outside of town. Let's get away from here for a while. When's the last time we did that?"

The cockapoo quirked an eyebrow as she pondered, "You know, I don't think we've actually ever done that."

River nodded, "Exactly, I think we're due for a change of scenery for a week or two, don't you?"

"Yeah, but where would we go?" Jacky asked. She sat up and scratched at the fur on her neck with a back paw. "More importantly, 'ow would we even travel?"

As if responding to Jacky's question, the TV behind the driver's seat of the van clicked on by itself. On the black and white screen was Charm, now in a business suit and standing in front of what looked like the logo of a travel agency. "Tired of your surroundings, or just wanting to get away from it all? Not sure where to go, or just how to get there?"

Her head turned, looking directly at River and Jacky. "Maybe see the world in a different setting, with familiar faces, but in new roles, styles, and genres."

River glanced at Jacky, who nodded, then back at the TV. "You have our attention."

Charm grinned a fanged smile, "We offer the finest in travel, with priority arrangements for those of the 4 legged variety in need of a change. Maybe make new friends, or even help us put some wayward stories back on track? Stay as long as you like, there's always a way back home when you want it. What do you say, ladies?"

"I say, River, pack your things," Jacky replied, hopping up to her feet. "We're going on a vacation!"

 

Outside the van, Frederick the Sparrow landed in his usual spot, looking to sharpen his beak. Instead of the rock though, all he found was sand, and a single, worn pebble. He picked the pebble up, and began rubbing it against the edges of his beak. "Guess I'll need to find a new spot."

Frederick dropped the pebble, and took to the air once more. The pebble cracked upon hitting the ground, and fell apart into dust.

Tock.


End file.
